Romans 6

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Romans 6:1

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?

(a) What shall we say then? God’s grace is greater than your sin (Rom. 5:20), but does that mean we should continue in sin?

(b) Are we to continue in sin, or should we stop sinning? This is a strange question for those who believe they have no choice. “I have a sinful nature. I can’t help what I do.” But God’s grace gives you the freedom to choose (e.g., Rom. 6:11–13, 15). You can choose to walk after the old ways of the flesh or in the new way of the spirit (Rom. 6:4, 8:4).

(c) Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? Preach grace, and some will ask, “Aren’t you giving people a license to sin?” (Some were saying this about Paul; see Rom. 3:8). Others will say that it’s okay to sin because “God has to forgive me” or “there’s no more sin.” Your sinning will never affect God’s love for you, but it will surely affect you. Sin is destructive (Rom. 6:21, 23). It is not your Father’s will for you to destroy yourself through sinful choices. God gives us his grace so that we may enjoy whole and godly lives.

Use your freedom to enslave yourself to sin, and you’ve missed the point of grace. Just as the Israelites were taken out of Egypt so that they could live in the Promised Land, you have been taken out of Adam so that you might live in Christ as a new creation (verse 4).

参考文献： "Is grace a license to sin?」

(d) グレース captures the goodwill, lovingkindness, and favor of God that is freely given to us so that we may partake in his divine life. See エントリ for Rom. 3:24.

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Romans 6:2

May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?

(a) May it never be! Of course, we shouldn’t continue in sin. Sinning is stupid. Jesus came to give you freedom and life. Sinning leads to bondage and death (Rom. 6:16, 23, 7:5, 9–10, 13, 8:2).

(b) We who died. The first step to being free from sin is realizing that we have died with Christ.

Every believer knows that Jesus died on the cross, but not every believer knows that they died too. “We have died with Christ” (Rom. 6:8). When you were baptized or put into Christ by the Holy Spirit, you were put into his death (see next verse).

If you are struggling to live the Christian life, it may be because you do not know what happened to you on the cross. You died with Christ so that you can be free from sin (Rom. 6:6–7) and walk in newness of life (Rom. 6:4). You will never fully enjoy your new life until you realize what happened to your old one. It died.

The struggle ends when we appropriate by faith the finished work of the cross. Christ has done it all. Your part is to receive the benefits of his work—forgiveness, acceptance, justification, sanctification —and rest from your labors (Heb. 4:10).

(c) How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Living in sin makes no sense for the one who has died to sin. Why wallow in the clay pits of Egypt when the Promised Land awaits?

(d) Died to sin. You died to sin, but sin did not die. Your old master still seeks to enslave and destroy you (Rom. 6:14, 16, 23). But any claim that sin had on you ended at the cross. The moment you came to Christ and were baptized into his death, your bondage came to an end.

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Romans 6:3

Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?

(a) Do you not know? By now, you should know.

The “do you not know?” phrase is one of Paul’s rhetorical trademarks. He uses this phrase four times in his letter to the Romans (Rom. 6:3, 16, 7:1, 11:2) and ten times in his letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 3:16, 5:6, 6:2, 6:3, 6:9, 15, 16, 19, 9:13, 24).

(b) Know. The original verb agnoeō is the negative version of a word (noieo) that means “to exercise the mind” and “comprehend.” Paul is saying, “Have you not realized this?” The same word is translated elsewhere as “do not be unaware” (Rom. 1:13), “don’t be uninformed” (Rom. 11:25), and “not knowing” (Rom. 2:4).

“Knowing this” (Rom. 6:6) and “knowing that” (Rom. 6:9) highlights the importance of knowledge in our faith walk. Faith is not blind ignorance. Faith follows facts. This is why we are exhorted to renew our minds so that we might walk in the will of God and no longer conform to the ways of the world (Rom. 12:2).

(c) Baptized into Christ Jesus. Every believer has been baptized or dipped or placed into Christ Jesus by the Holy Spirit (Gal. 3:27). To put it another way, you have been joined to Christ (Rom. 7:4), clothed with Christ (Gal. 3:27), and hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3).

Some use this passage to insist that water baptism is essential for salvation, but water baptism is an outward act that re-enacts the baptism done to you by the Holy Spirit. “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body” (1 Cor. 12:13).

見る エントリ 洗礼のために。

(d) Christ Jesus; 見る エントリ for Rom. 1:1.

(e) Baptized into his death. Our spiritual union with Christ means we have been united with him in his death (verses 5, 7, and 8). In Romans and his other letters, Paul bangs this drum repeatedly: “Our old self was crucified with him” (Rom. 6:6). “You also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ” (Rom. 7:4). “You have died with Christ” (Col. 2:20), “You died” (Col. 3:3), “We died” (2 Tim. 2:11), and “I have been crucified with Christ” (Gal. 2:20).

参考文献： "What happened to me at the cross?」

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Romans 6:4

Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

(a) Buried with him. The believer has been crucified, buried, and raised with Christ.

(b) Baptism into death; 前の節を参照してください。

(c) So that. To give us new life is the answer to the question, Why did Jesus come? (John 3:16, 10:28, 1 Tim. 1:16). Jesus did not come merely to free us from sin. He came to give us a brand new life. “I have come that they may have life” (John 10:10). When we preach the gospel, we are telling people about the new life that Christ offers to all (Acts 5:20).

見る エントリ 新しい生活のために。

(d) Christ was raised from the dead. The same Holy Spirit that raised Christ from the dead will help you walk in newness of life (Rom. 8:11).

(e) Raised; 見る エントリ for Rom. 4:24.

(f) Through the glory of the Father. The Father’s resurrecting power is glorious! We would be lost without it.

(g) Glory. The original noun doxa means majesty, magnificence, splendor, preeminence, and exalted. See エントリ for Rom. 1:22.

(h) Might walk in newness of life. To walk in newness of life is to walk in the new way of the spirit rather than the old way of the flesh (Rom. 8:4). Your new life is a fact; walking in it is a choice.

Paul is shifting gears. In the first five chapters of Romans, he discoursed on God’s righteousness (Romans 1), kindness (Romans 2), faithfulness (Romans 3), promises (Romans 4), and grace (Romans 5). Knowing the character and work of God, we can now begin to appreciate the opportunities that lie before us. In Christ, we are free and no longer slaves of sin (Romans 6). We died to the law so that we might be joined to Christ and bear fruit for God (Romans 7). But walking in the new way of the spirit requires a new mindset (Romans 8).

(i) Newness of life. In Christ, we get to enjoy a brand new life marked by wholeness, freedom, and authentic fellowship with God and each other. It’s life as it was always meant to be.

The life we received from God is not an extended version of the life we had in Adam. That old life is gone (Rom. 6:6). Our new life in Christ is a blessed and abundant life that never ends (Rom. 6:23). Origin determines destination. Adam came from the ground, and those who live the Adamic life end up in the ground (Gen. 2:7, 3:19). In contrast, Jesus came from heaven, and those who receive his life experience the blessings of heaven now and forever more (1 Cor. 15:49).

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Romans 6:5

For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection,

(a) United. The original adjective symphytos means “planted together.” It describes an organic and inseparable union of intertwined parts. The closest English word is “connate,” which means “individual parts that are united to form a single whole.” It comes from the Latin con-(together) and natus (born).

The best illustration of our connate union is the one Jesus gave us—a vine and a branch, two parts that combine to make an indivisible whole (John 15:5). Vines and branches cannot be understood in isolation. A vine with no branches is not much of a vine, and a branch that is not part of a vine is not a branch. It’s just a stick.

What does this connate union mean for the believer? It means apart from him we can do nothing (John 15:5). We can’t bear fruit, grow, or live. But in union with him, we don’t need to do a thing to make this new life happen. We just receive it. To partake in his divine nature requires only that we live in the spiritual union that is already ours.

(b) United with him. The believer has been crucified with him, buried with him, raised with him in order to live with him and reign with him (Rom. 6:4–8, 2 Cor. 13:4, Eph. 2:6, 2 Tim. 2:11–12). The believer’s life can only be understood in relationship to the Lord.

Just as a married person who acts like a single person is going to miss out on the blessings of marriage, a Christian who fails to draw from their union with Christ is going to miss many of the blessings of that union. This life we share with Christ is meant to be expressed, enjoyed, and so fruitful that unbelievers see it and marvel.

見る エントリ for Union.

(c) The likeness of his death… his resurrection. If A, then B. If we have died with Christ (verse 3), we have also been raised with Christ. Since we have shared in the former, we have also shared in the latter (see Rom. 6:8).

Many believers linger at the cross because they do not know they have been raised with Christ. Thank God for the cross, but Jesus is not there. He is seated at the right hand of God, and so are you (Eph. 2:6). From this position of rest and authority, we get to rule and reign with Christ here and now (Rom. 5:17). We can enjoy victory over sin and walk in the will of God.

(d) Resurrection; 見る エントリ for Rom. 1:4

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Romans 6:6

knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.

(a) Knowing this. The key to walking in your new life is knowing that you have died with Christ and been set free from sin. You are a sinner no more, but a new creation, holy and righteous in Christ.

(b) The old self refers to our “former manner of life” with its old attitudes and mindsets (Eph. 4:22). It’s the person we used to be when we tried to muddle our way through life without God by relying on our wits and limited understanding.

(c) Our old self was crucified. You don’t need to fix your old self because he is dead.

Your old self was selfish, covetous, and ambitious. He walked after the flesh and did what was right in his own eyes. He could put on a mask and fake kindness with the best of them, but deep down he lived for himself, and no amount of reform could make him better. The good news is your old self was nailed to the cross with Jesus and no longer lives. If the average believer could grasp this truth—“I died with Christ”—half of our church programs would no longer be needed. We would stop trying to reform our old self because the old self is dead.

(d) Our body of sin is our mortal body, a.k.a. our body of death (Rom. 6:12, 7:24). The body of sin is not a sinful nature or the old self (Col. 2:11, 3:9) The body of sin is our physical body, the battleground where we engage with sin and experience its deathly effects (Rom. 6:13, 19, 7:5, 23–24, 8:10).

Your spirit is one with the Lord (1 Cor. 6:17), but your body inhabits a world where sin resides (Rom. 5:13). Sin tempts us through our natural senses, and it is with the members of our body—our eyes, hands, tongues, etc.—that we sin. Our members are not sinful, but they can be used for sinful purposes (Rom. 6:13). When the old desires of the flesh collide with the new desires of your spirit, the war is waged in your members (Rom. 7:23).

Although you may bear the scars of sin, you can be sure that your body is precious to the Lord. He will never cede this territory to the enemy, and neither should you. As far as the Lord is concerned, your body belongs to him (Rom. 12:1). It is his temple (see エントリ for 1 Cor. 6:19).

(e) Might be done away with. A better translation might be “rendered ineffective” or “put out of business.” (The original verb katargeō means “to render useless” or “make of no effect” and is translated as “nullify” in Romans 3:3 and 31.)

Something happened (your old self was crucified), and now something needs to happen (your body needs to be rendered ineffective as an instrument of sin), so that something else will happen (you will no longer be a slave to sin). Paul is not saying your body needs to be destroyed (you still need it). He’s saying use your body to serve the Lord (Rom. 6:13, 21–22, 12:1).

(f) Slaves to sin. Manmade religion says you were born a rebel, but you were born a slave. “You were slaves of sin” (Rom. 6:17). Religion says your greatest need is to be forgiven for the crime of being born, but our greatest need is to be free. “I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin… Who will set me free?” (Rom. 7:14, 24). Jesus did not come to convince rebels to change sides. He came to set the captives free (Luke 4:18). “Sin shall not be master over you” (Rom. 6:14).

(g) 罪. We weren’t slaves to our sinning habits, but to sin itself. Later in the chapter, Paul personifies sin as a tyrant that desires to deceive, dominate, and destroy us; see エントリ for Rom. 6:14.

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Romans 6:7

For he who has died is freed from sin.

(a) He who has died. Some people believe you need to die daily, but once will do the trick.

Christians who do not know they have died with Christ end up living two lives. On the one hand, they are trying to walk in the new life they have received in Christ, but on the other, they are trying to reform the old life they inherited from Adam. The cure for double-minded Christianity is not to try harder or lift your game. It is believing the good news that your old self was crucified with Christ (Rom. 6:6).

参考文献： "What does it mean to take up your cross daily?」

(b) Freed from sin. You don’t have to listen to your old master anymore.

In Adam, we were slaves to sin, but in Christ, we are truly free. We are free to choose, connect, and create. We are free to live without worry and approach God without fear. We are free to trust the Lord and walk every day in fellowship with him. We are free to be who God made us to be.

You were not freed because you kept the law, made sacrifices, or did all the right things. You were freed because you died with Christ severing the shackles that kept you bound (Rom. 6:14). You remain free by reckoning yourself dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus (Rom. 6:11).

The freedom to choose is one of the greatest blessings of the new creation. In your old life, you walked after the desires of the flesh because they were the only desires you had. But having been placed into Christ, you have become a partaker of his divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4). The evidence of this new life is the new desires and new ambitions you now have. As far as sinning goes, you are just not that interested anymore. You still have the capacity to sin, but you don’t enjoy it like you used to. Sinning makes you miserable because you know who your Father is, and when you know who your Father is (not a sinner), you know who you are (not a sinner).

参考文献： "The old has gone, gone, gone.」

(c) 罪; 見る エントリ for Rom. 6:14.

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Romans 6:8

Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,

(a) We have died with Christ. Seven times in seven verses Paul hammers this nail: You died with Christ. Your inclusion in Christ’s death is an immutable fact to be acknowledged, celebrated, and never forgotten. See エントリ for Rom. 6:2.

(b) With Christ. “With Christ” is another union phrase to go with “with him” and “in Christ” (Rom. 6:4–6, 8:1). We died with Christ (Rom. 6:8), we have been raised and made alive with Christ (Eph. 2:5, Col. 3:1), we have been clothed with Christ (Gal. 3:27), and our lives are hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3).

見る エントリ for Union.

(c) We believe. Our new life with Christ is experienced through faith in him.

To walk in the new way of the spirit is to walk by faith. It is resting in the persuasion that God is good and he longs to be good to us. Your new life is not something you earn with blood, sweat, and tears. It is a gift to receive with praise and thanksgiving.

(d) We shall also live with him. The cross marks the end of your old life and the beginning of your new one.

Christianity is not just another religion of rules and rituals. Christianity is Christ living in you (Gal. 2:20). Because Christ lives in you, you are holy and righteous. Because Christ lives in you, you can be free and fruitful. Christ is not just your Savior and Healer. Christ is your Life (Col. 3:4).

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Romans 6:9

knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him.

(a) Knowing. Faith follows facts; see エントリ for Rom. 6:3.

(b) Christ, having been raised from the dead. Because Christ has been raised from the dead, everything has changed. Humanity is no longer condemned to walk in the shadow of death. Through faith in the Risen Savior, we can experience abundant life now and forever more.

(c) Raised; 見る エントリ for Rom. 4:24.

(d) Never to die again. Jesus Christ is not just the Deliverer who rescues us from the sentence of death (previous verse), he is the first fruits of a new creation that will never die (1 Cor. 15:23). Christ’s deathless life guarantees eternal life for all who are in him.

(e) Death no longer is master over him. Death can’t touch Christ, and it can’t touch those who are in Christ. Adam introduced death; our Savior Christ abolished death (2 Tim. 1:10).

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Romans 6:10

For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.

(a) The death that he died. Christ’s sacrificial death gave him power over sin (this verse) and death (previous verse). In Christ, you have been set free from the law of sin and of death (Rom. 8:2).

(b) He died to sin once for all. Christ’s death dealt with sin once and for all (Heb. 7:27, 9:26). Just as Jesus is done with sin, you can be done with sin (see next verse).

(c) The life that he lives. Those in Adam live under the law of sin and death. But those in Christ live in the power of the Spirit (Rom. 8:5–11).

(d) He lives to God. Christ’s life is defined in relationship to God. Unlike fallen Adam, who spent his lonely life pulling thistles on death row, Jesus sits at the right hand of God, basking in his Father’s love and pleasure (Rom. 8:34). This is the life we were made for.

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Romans 6:11

Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

(a) Consider. The original verb logízomai means “reckon, compute, calculate, or take into account”; see エントリ for Rom. 4:3.

Paul is not asking you to imagine or pretend but to reckon and take into account the reality of your situation. Let your faith rest on this fact: you are dead to sin. Once you were a slave of sin, but then you died, and now you belong to Christ (1 Cor. 3:23).

(b) Consider yourselves to be dead to sin. Don’t be sin-conscious, but Son-conscious. Don’t react to sinful thoughts that come your way. Don’t let your enemy sin convince you that its thoughts and temptations are yours. Don’t engage at all.

Christians do many things in response to sin; we talk about sin, confess our sin, pray against sin, preach against sin, and warn against sin. But when it comes to sin, there is one thing we must do, and that is reckon ourselves dead to it. When sin comes knocking, don’t open the door. When sin calls, don’t answer. A dead person cannot react and be tempted by sin.

(c) But. If we read only the first part of the verse, we’ll remain at the prison gate going nowhere. It is not enough that we reckon ourselves dead to sin, we must also see ourselves as alive to God in Christ Jesus. This is our new reality. You are not a sinner but a new creation.

(d) Alive to God. Real life beckons!

This is the answer to all our prayers. All we ever wanted was to feel truly alive. To be full of life, energy, and purpose. Not merely existing but connecting, thriving, and being everything that God made us to be. To be alive to God is knowing and being known. It is loving and being loved. It is seeing the touch of God in everything you do and in everyone you meet.

Your new life begins with a revelation of God your Father and yourself his dearly loved child. God accepts you and delights in you. You are the apple of his eye, and he rejoices over you with singing (Zep. 3:17). Knowing that God is for you and not against you changes everything (Rom. 8:31).

(e) In Christ Jesus. There is no lasting life apart from Christ, but one with the Lord, you have been made complete in every way (Col. 2:10). Just as a newborn baby is completely human, you are completely filled with the life of Christ.

Once upon a time, we were disconnected from the life that is in Christ (Col. 1:21). But now we enjoy fellowship and intimacy with the One who knows us better than we know ourselves. In Christ, we find the deepest longings of our hearts fulfilled.

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Romans 6:12

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts,

(a) Therefore. Since you have died with Christ and are dead to sin (verses 2–6), your old master sin has no hold on you (verse 7). Since you are alive to God (verses 8–11), you no longer have to heed sin’s call.

(b) Do not let. What power is in those words! Many Christians see themselves as timid little hobbits hiding from the evils of the world when they ought to see themselves as mighty Gandalfs standing up to monsters. You are not a victim but a victor. You are more than a conqueror because the victory has been won (Rom. 8:37). Jesus won the war; your part is to enjoy the spoils of his victory.

(c) Do not let sin reign. You can say no to sin.

Your old master sin does not want to let you go, and one of the ways he tries to manipulate you is through guilt. “Look what you did. You sinned, which makes you a sinner. You belong to me.” Don’t let that old bully push you around. You remain a beloved child of the Most High even when you sin. When the Accuser points the finger and declares you “Guilty!” you can shout back, “I am forgiven, accepted, and righteous in Christ!”

Another way sin tries to pull you back is by putting you under law. “You need to straighten up and fly right to earn God’s favor.” This lie caused the Galatians to lose their freedom (Gal. 5:1), and Paul will say more about it in the next chapter (Rom. 7:7–11).

(d) Reign in your mortal body. Don’t yield the field to sin.

Every day, you are bombarded with thoughts and messages that are contrary to God’s will for you. You do not have to give one inch to these temptations. By the grace of God, you can say “no” to ungodliness and “yes” to the Lord (see Tit. 2:11–12).

(e) Mortal body. Your physical body or “earthsuit” is mortal. It will eventually wear out and die. Paul refers to our mortal bodies as our “body of sin” (Rom. 6:6) and “the body of this death” (Rom. 7:24). One day, we will get resurrection bodies that last forever (1 Cor. 15:53–54). Until then, we await the redemption of our bodies (Rom. 8:23).

(f) So that you obey its lusts. Don’t give sin the time of day. Don’t be fooled into thinking its lusts and desires are your lusts and desires. Don’t take ownership of every thought that passes through your mind and don’t feel guilty for thoughts that did not come from you. As Martin Luther said, “You can’t stop the birds flying over your head, but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair.”

(g) Obey. Pay sin no mind; see エントリ for Rom. 2:8.

In the New Testament, several words are translated as “obey” or “obedience.” There is the obedience (peitharcheo) we give to God and those in authority (Acts 5:29, Tit. 3:1). There is the obedience (peitho) that means to be persuaded by the truth (Rom. 2:8, Gal. 5:7). And then there is the word used here (hupakouo), which means listen and attend to.

(h) Lusts. The original noun epithymia means “strong desire” or “longing.” Desires can be good or bad depending on the context. An example of a good desire is found when Jesus says, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you” (Luke 22:15). Similarly, Paul told the Thessalonians he had a great desire to see them (1 Th. 2:17). However, there are numerous examples of desires or longings that are negative or harmful (e.g., Rom. 1:24, 13:14, Eph. 4:22).

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Romans 6:13

and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.

(a) Do not. These exhortations can be misinterpreted as laws that must be obeyed, even though there are no penalties for noncompliance. Paul is not preaching law; he’s teaching us how to walk in the new way of the spirit. The laws of the Old Testament inflame sin and minister death, but the exhortations of the New Testament inspire us to walk in our true identity.

(b) Members. The members of your body (your eyes, hands, ears, etc.) connect you to the physical world. You see with your eyes, feel with your hands, taste with your mouth, hear with your ears, and smell with your nose. Your members also include your heart (your emotions) and mind (your will and imagination). Your members are not sinful but can be used for sinful purposes. “If your hand or eye causes you to sin.” (Matt 5:29). When we gaze with lust-filled eyes and curse with our tongues, we yield our members to sin.

(c) Your body to sin. Our physical bodies are the battleground where we encounter the temptation to sin; see エントリ for Rom. 6:6.

(d) Instruments of unrighteousness. Like tools, our bodies can be used for good or bad purposes. Our tongues can be springs of fresh or bitter water (Jas. 3:11). When Adam and Eve saw that the forbidden tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, they were using their bodies (their natural senses) for unrighteous purposes (Gen. 3:6).

(e) Unrighteousness is the fruit of living with no regard for the things of God; see エントリ for Rom. 1:18.

(f) But present. You have a choice. Slaves don’t have a choice, but you are not a slave. You can decide whether your body will serve sin or God.

(g) Present yourselves to God. Present your body as a holy and living sacrifice to God (Rom. 12:1).

You have been bought with a price, and your body is part of the body of Christ (1 Cor. 6:15, 7:23). Honor God with your body (1 Cor. 6:20), not because you have to, but because it’s the smart thing to do. It’s far better to live for God than to serve sin.

(h) As those alive from the dead. A prisoner who has been freed from death row will always be grateful to the one who freed him. We don’t present ourselves to God grudgingly but with profound gratitude, humility, and joy.

(i) Your members as instruments of righteousness. Use your tongue for building up instead of tearing down. Fill your mind with pure and noble thoughts. Gaze on things that are lovely and inspiring. Run after righteousness, pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 14:1, 1 Tim. 6:11).

(j) 正義 in this context refers to the right living that flows from being in right relationship with our righteous Father. Right living results from walking in step with the spirit (Gal. 5:25).

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Romans 6:14

For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

(a) 罪 is like a tyrant that desires to rule and ruin your life.

Paul personifies sin when he says sin reigned (Rom. 5:21), sin kills (Rom. 7:11), and sin has been condemned (Rom. 8:3). Sin has an agenda. It has lusts (Rom. 6:12) and desires to master you. Sin wants to enslave you (Rom. 6:6, 17, 20, 7:14), deceive you, and kill you (Rom. 7:11).

Is sin another word for Satan? Paul never says this, but everything the Bible says about sin is true of Satan. Both sin and Satan seek to devour us (Gen. 4:7, 1 Pet. 5:8) and kill us (Rom 7:11, John 8:44), and both have been defeated by Jesus (Heb. 9:26, John 12:31). When we yield to sin, we yield to Satan.

(b) Sin shall not be master. “Don’t let sin rule you.”

In Christ, you are a slave no longer. You are free. You get to choose what you do with your hands, mouth, eyes, and ears (see previous verse). In view of this, present your body as a living and holy sacrifice to God (Rom. 12:1).

(c) For you means “because.” Because you are not under law, sin shall not have dominion over you.

(d) Not under law. The law serves no purpose for the believer. “The law is not made for a righteous person” (1 Tim. 1:9).

The law is not your friend, your guide, or your teacher. To live under law is to walk in unbelief because the law is not of faith (Gal. 3:12). Those who walk by faith are to be governed by grace and led by the indwelling Spirit of Christ (Gal. 5:18).

There is perhaps no greater threat to the believer’s well-being than the lie that begins, “The law helps me to…” Some believe the law helps them to overcome sin, but the law helps sin to overcome you (1 Cor. 15:56). Others believe the law is a guide to holy living, but we have a far better guide in the Holy Spirit (John 16:13). Still others think keeping the law pleases the Lord, but living under the law is cheating on Jesus (see Rom. 7:3–4). As Paul explains in the next chapter, living under the law leads to sin and death (Rom. 7:5, 9–10).

(e) Law. The word “law” means different things to different people. Although Paul is referring to the Law of Moses (Rom. 5:20), people put themselves under all sorts of law, including the so-called commands of Jesus and the rules and regulations of their churches and denominations. The heavy yoke of the law comes in many shapes and sizes.

(f) Under grace. For the believer, there has been a change in government (Rom. 7:6). Having been transferred out of Adam and put into Christ, we now live in God’s kingdom of grace. This means we no longer rely on ourselves and our works, but we wholly trust in the Lord and his work.

(g) グレース; 見る エントリ for Rom. 3:24.

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Romans 6:15

What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be!

(a) Shall we sin? Does grace give us a license to sin? Paul repeats his rhetorical question of Romans 6:1 as if to say, “Are you getting this? Do you see how foolish it is to suggest that grace is a license to sin? Did God set us free just so we might become slaves again? Of course not!”

(b) 罪. The original verb hamartano means “to miss the mark” and fall short of the life God has for us (Rom. 3:23). Although Paul talks about sin and sinning more than 50 times in Romans, this is the only occasion where the verb “sin” is a present-tense action rather than something that was done (sin rather than sinned）。

(c) Not under law. Many believers are uncertain about their relationship with the law. They shouldn’t be. “We are not under law.” This is such an important truth that Paul says it twice (see previous verse).

(d) Under grace; 前の節を参照してください。

(e) May it never be! Of course, we shouldn’t sin; sinning is destructive. Sinning won’t cost you your salvation—God is faithful even when we are not. But it will cost you your freedom.

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Romans 6:16

Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?

(a) Do you not know? By now, you should know; see エントリ for Rom. 6:3.

(b) Slaves for obedience. In Christ, we are free to choose who we will serve. But if we yield to the temptations of sin, we will soon find ourselves enslaved to our old master. Choosing to sin is like returning to prison.

(c) Obedience; 見る エントリ for Rom. 5:19.

(d) Slaves… of obedience. When Paul speaks of being “slaves of obedience,” or “slaves of righteousness” (verse 18), or being “enslaved to God” (verse 22), he is speaking figuratively. He is contrasting the “new slavery” of sonship and freedom with the old slavery of sin and death.

(e) Whom you obey. We can heed the life-giving words of the Lord or the siren song of sin.

(f) Resulting in death. When we sow the seeds of sin we reap a terrible harvest (Rom. 6:21, 23, 7:5).

When it comes to sin, there is no such thing as a free pass. The world says, “If it feels good, do it,” and “As long as it’s not hurting anyone,” but these lies belie a harsh reality. Sinning is destructive. Go down that dark path, and you will lose your way and eventually lose yourself (Mark 8:36).

(g) Resulting in righteousness. One with the Lord, you are righteous and holy, and nothing you can do will make you more righteous and holy. But your behavior will only be righteous and holy when you walk in step with the Spirit (Rom. 6:19, 8:4, Gal. 5:16).

(h) 正義. Right living; see エントリ for Rom. 6:13.

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Romans 6:17

But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed,

(a) Thanks be to God. All the credit for your freedom goes to the One who called you out of darkness into the kingdom of his marvelous light (1 Pet. 2:9). By the grace of God you were set free from sin and declared innocent of all charges against you (Rom. 3:24).

(b) Slaves of sin; 見る エントリ for Romans 6:6.

(c) 罪 is personified as an enslaving tyrant; see エントリ for Romans 6:14.

(d) Obedient from the heart. Your turning to God was not with mere lip service but genuine repentance that came from the heart (Rom. 10:9).

(e) Teaching. The original noun didachē means “doctrine” or “instruction.” This teaching is not a set of rules, ethics, or guidelines for Christian living. It is the gospel of God, a.k.a. the gospel of Christ (Rom. 1:1, 15:16, 19). Paul says we are to heed or obey the gospel, while John says we are to abide or rest in it (2 John 1:9). As believers, we are to heed, abide, and walk in the grace of God that comes to us through his Son.

(f) To which you were committed. “To which you surrendered.” You heard the good news of Jesus Christ, and you were persuaded. You believed in it with your whole heart.

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Romans 6:18

and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

(a) Freed from sin; 見る エントリ for Rom. 6:7.

(b) 罪 is an enslaving tyrant; see エントリ for Rom. 6:14.

(c) Slaves of righteousness. We have submitted to the righteousness of God.

Paul is not saying you exchanged one form of slavery for another; he’s saying you have had a change in masters. Formerly, you served sin. Now you obey Christ the Righteous One. Formerly, your desires were sinful. Now they are righteous. You no longer want to sin. You would rather be free and walk in the will of God.

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Romans 6:19

I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.

(a) I am speaking in human terms. “I am using everyday terms like ‘slave’ and ‘master’ to illustrate a spiritual truth. Just as you once served sin, you now serve the Lord.”

Inspired by Paul’s metaphorical language, some have compared Christians to the emancipated slaves of the American South. Once the Civil War was won, slavery was abolished, yet some former slaves continued serving their old masters out of ignorance or fear. In the same way, some Christians continue to live as if they are still enslaved to sin. They have been set free, but they are not living in freedom. They’ve stayed on the proverbial plantation because they do not appreciate all that Christ has done for them. They continue living their old life because they don’t know that a new life beckons.

(b) Because of the weakness of your flesh. “Because spiritual truths can be hard to understand, I am speaking figuratively.”

(c) You presented your members. When we sin, we sin with our members—our eyes, tongues, hands, etc. (see エントリ for Rom. 6:13).

(d) Resulting in further lawlessness. Sin begets sin. Lying leads to betrayal. Anger leads to violence. Pornography leads to infidelity. Sinning gets easier with practice. A small sin today leads to a bigger sin tomorrow. When we yield to sin, our lives spiral downward.

(e) So now present your members. Since you are no longer a slave of sin, present your body as a holy and living sacrifice to God (Rom. 12:1).

(f) Slaves to righteousness; 前の節を参照してください。

(g) Resulting in sanctification. Walk in the new way of the spirit, and your life will be whole and holy.

If you don’t know that you are 100 percent righteous and holy in Christ, you may act like the sinner you used to be. If you don’t know that you have died to sin, you may act like the slave you once were. This is why we are exhorted to “lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light” (Rom. 13:12). Live for the Lord, and your speech and conduct will be as sanctified as you are.

(h) Sanctification. Holy living; see エントリ for Rom. 6:22.

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Romans 6:20

      For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.

(a) You were slaves of sin when you lived apart from God.

(b) Slaves of sin; 見る エントリ for Romans 6:6.

(c) Free in regard to righteousness. For as long as you were an unbeliever, you were unrighteous. You may have been a good and decent person, but your flesh was incapable of walking in the righteousness of God.

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Romans 6:21

Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death.

(a) What benefit? “What good did it do you when you lived captive to sin? What bitter fruit did you reap?”

(b) The things of which you are now ashamed? Serving sin left you with scars and sorrow.

(c) For the outcome of those things is death. Sinful choices lead to dead ends and failure. Sin ruins lives, sinks relationships, and ends friendships. Sin can put you in the grave (Rom. 6:23).

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Romans 6:22

But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.

(a) Freed from sin. For the third time in this chapter, Paul reminds us that we have been freed from sin. We are slaves no longer (Rom. 6:7, 18, 22). This is a truth we can take to the bank.

(b) Enslaved to God. Paul is speaking figuratively (Rom. 6:19). You are a son, not a slave (Rom. 8:14–17). Just as you belonged to sin, you now belong to God (Rom. 8:9).

(c) You derive your benefit. The result of changing masters is a holy and healthy life.

Just as your old life of sin yielded bad fruit (see previous verse), your new life in Christ produces good fruit. On your first day as a believer, you have the complete forgiveness of all sins, acceptance with God, righteousness, confidence, and security. You have the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. With all these benefits and God on your side, how can you fail?

(d) Benefit. The original noun karpos is usually translated as “fruit” (e.g., the fruit of the Spirit, Gal. 5:22). It is sometimes translated as “crop” (e.g., Matt. 13:8) and “profit” (e.g., Php. 4:17).

(e) Resulting in sanctification; 見る エントリ for Rom. 6:19.

(f) Sanctification in this context means “holiness” and implies holy living. Since we are holy (Heb. 10:10, 14), we are called to be holy or live holy (1 Pet. 1:15). You are holy, so act like it. Sinning is destructive, but God’s grace empowers us to live a sanctified life.

(g) 永遠の命. The good life we have in Christ never ends; see エントリ for Rom. 2:7.

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Romans 6:23

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

(a) The wages of sin. Sin is its own punishment.

Religion tells us that sinning is bad because it displeases God, while the world tells us that sinning is good because it brings pleasure. Both lies do incalculable damage.

God hates sin because sin hurts those he loves. Sin hurts, diminishes, and kills us. Sin ruins our marriages, harms our children, and destroys our world. God never intended for us to live with suffering and death.

見る エントリ for Sin.

(b) The wages of sin is death. Death is not divine punishment but the natural consequence of sin

The world is a hospice, a home for the terminally ill. It makes no difference how decent and moral you are. The end result is the same for everyone: death (1 Cor. 15:22, Heb. 9:27). But the good news is that God raises the dead and gives new life to those who trust him (Rom. 8:11, 1 Cor. 6:14).

(c) The free gift of God. The choice could not be more stark: we can spend our lives slaving for sin and earn a miserable wage (death), or we can rest in the grace of God and receive an extravagant gift (eternal life).

(d) 永遠の命 is not merely endless life; eternal life is Christ living in you. See エントリ for Rom. 2:7.

(e) In Christ Jesus. Eternal life is one of the many blessings we receive in union with Christ; see エントリ for Rom. 8:1.

(f) Lord; 見る エントリ for Rom. 1:4.

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